Investigators Baffled by Dead Judge's Debts

CORPUS CHRISTI Investigators say state District Judge Tom Greenwell was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt when he shot and killed himself in his chambers at the Nueces County Courthouse.

Sheriff Jim Kaelin said financial documents found in Greenwell's chambers that he had exhausted the spending limits on five credit cards and had taken out loans. The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports investigators are awaiting court approval before delving deeper into Greenwell's finances.

Kaelin says Greenwell, who killed himself Monday, didn't live lavishly on his salary of at least $140,000 a year and that his property can't account for the size of the judge's debts. Now, investigators are looking to rule out such malign influences as extortion and blackmail.

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